Coastwalk , Thames Path

Tower of London → Island Gardens

Distance: 5.14 miles
Ascent: unknown
Duration: 1 hour 25 minutes

The Dogs
« The Dome | North Woolwich »

Having crossed Tower Bridge I sat and examined my feet. Emma's other spare boots had also failed to live up to my hopes and blistered both my ankles. Although tempting to stop now I had time to kill so continued another five miles downstream to the end point of the Thames Path National Trail's north bank route through London. (Give the boots some credit: despite the blisters I completed this walk without much discomfort.)

Coastwalk

The Dome → Tower of London

Distance: 8.02 miles
Ascent: unknown
Duration: 2 hours 12 minutes

Crossing the river
« Greenhithe | Island Gardens »

As soon as I'd decided to "walk out" the Tilbury ferry, the next decision to make was where to cross The Thames. Three tunnels can be used by pedestrians: the foot tunnels at Woolwich and Greenwich, and perhaps surprisingly the Rotherhithe road tunnel. The Woolwich tunnel was closed for refurbishment when I passed it on my previous walk, as was the Greenwich tunnel today. And although I'd quite like to walk through the Rotherhithe tunnel (despite the fumes), it's not exactly definitively London. Besides, I'm just a little bit in love with Tower Bridge.

Decision made: I'd cross on London's most photographed bridge.

The Dome is on the rather grandly renamed Greenwich Peninsula, a name that has delusions of grandeur. Interpretive signs explaining the river's history imagine that they sit on wide tree-lined boulevards between the water and beautiful apartments. Instead the vandalised notices face a grotty path on the fringes of land that is waiting for a property boom. (The sense is that it has been waiting a very long time.)

After Greenwich the path heads north, following the great U-bend in the river past a city farm along many wharves and through countless apartment blocks. Eventually, from Rotherhithe the view opens up and Tower Bridge can be seen for the first time.

Right now though, there is one more significant element on the horizon: the Shard. From this distance the scale of this project becomes clear. It dwarfs the bridge and mocks the buildings of the City - edifices that today we laughably call sky-scrapers, but tomorrow will just refer to as office blocks.